Current telecommunication systems use a hierarchical architecture to manage a flow of network management information (NMI) (e.g., information associated with operation, administration, maintenance, provisioning, etc. of telecommunication systems). For example, a network element (e.g., addressable and/or manageable telecommunication equipment, hardware and/or software that performs a telecommunication service function, etc.) may produce its own NMI, such as alarm information associated with the network element, performance data associated with the network element, etc. A domain manager collects the NMI from the network elements, and stores the NMI in its own data store. A large telecommunication system may have multiple domain managers, multiple network managers, and an enterprise system. Each domain manager may manage (e.g., collect NMI from) some network elements. Network managers collect the NMI stored in various domain managers, and the enterprise system collects the NMI stored in various network managers.
Such hierarchical architectures have several disadvantages. A first disadvantage is that domain managers represent a single point of failure for NMI associated with network elements. For example, if one domain manager fails, the NMI of network elements associated with the failing domain manager can not be collected by the failing domain manager and can not reach any network managers associated with the failing domain manager. In another example, if a link between a domain manager and its associated network element is not operational, the domain manager will not receive NMI from the network element. Thus, a network manager associated with the domain manager will not receive the NMI of the network element, even if there is an operational link between the network manager and the network element.
A second disadvantage of hierarchical architectures is NMI transfer latency (e.g., wasted time) caused by such architectures. NMI transfer latency is present in such architectures because the domain manager is the only entity that collects NMI from its managed network elements. For example, if a network manager or a domain manager wants to receive NMI from a network element not associated with the network manager or domain manager, the requested NMI is provided through an intermediary domain manager (e.g., the domain manager storing the requested NMI). The intermediary domain manager transfers the requested NMI in a store-and-forward manner. This type of transfer wastes time (e.g., causes latency) and is not suitable for real-time or near real-time applications.
A third disadvantage of hierarchical architectures is that they waste resources. Every time a network element changes its NMI, the network element emits a notification to its associated domain manager. The domain manager will update its NMI data store with the changed NMI, regardless if the changed NMI is required by other entities, such as a network manager, processes or operators associated with the domain manager, or other domain managers. A NMI data set associated with a network element can be large, and NMI changes can be frequent. Supporting voluminous and frequent NMI updates requires high bandwidth between a domain manager and its associated network elements, and requires substantial processing power on the part of the domain manager. Such high bandwidth and substantial processing power wastes resources if NMI and updated NMI are not required by other entities in the telecommunication network.